With the capture of one of the spirit animals, it meant that it was time again to infuse the children of the tribe. Dinner time started as usual with chatter and merriment, but, instead of immediately bringing out the food, everything was prepared to hold the ceremony.

We had been in the hall only for a few minutes when the doors opened and a woman entered carrying a baby that had to be only a couple of weeks old. Everyone in the hall quieted down and she made her way to the chief, where he went through the same process he went through when I had my first infusion. He first held a speech about the strength of the tribe and its growth, which was soon followed by cheers by the crowd, then smeared the blood and ash on the baby's head.

After the first baby, another one came, then another, and another. In the end some ten babies went through the ceremony, all of them crying as loud as they could for minutes until they didn't. The youngest were only a few weeks old, while the oldest already had a few months on them. I had never seen them around my village, which meant it was probably customary for mothers to live alone with their babies until they received their first infusion.

When there were no more babies, the chief turned to look at me and said, "Anya Irinado, come to receive your second infusion."

My mother pushed my butt up with a smile, prompting me to walk to the platform of the chief, and so I did. When I reached the platform, the chief walked around the table to stand in front of me.

"Anya Irinado, I have heard nothing but praises for you from both Inga and your mother. It seems you are already bringing pride to your mother's line." he said with a smile.

"Thank you, chief," I said, bowing my head to him.

The chief laughed a bit. "I can see that those praises were not empty words. Lift up your head, child, so that I may give you the blessing you deserve."

I looked up, locking my eyes with his and seeing that they were somehow both stern and gentle at the same time, like those of an old shepherd who is both ready to spend the night caring for an ewe giving birth to her first lambs, and to slaughter those same lambs. He turned to dip his right hand in the blood in the bowl behind him, then smeared my forehead with it. He then took the ash from the second bowl and sprinkled it over the blood.

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He closed his eyes and mumbled a short prayer, which this time I could understand was addressed to the ancestors and the spirits of the mountain. When he opened his eyes again, pain rushed through my veins like liquid fire, just like it had the first time. It soon got the better of me and I found myself screaming until I passed out once again.

I woke up back in my tent, with my mother watching over me. When she saw I was awake, she smiled at me and ruffled my hair, which I now felt had become quite long. "I knew you would make it."

She helped me to sit upright and asked, "I bet you're hungry, do you want something to eat?"

I just nodded and, moments later, she presented me a plate full of cold meat dressed with spices, berries, and nuts. "Be careful, it's your first meal with your new body."

I slowly savored the flavorful meal, while I examined my body. Like I had expected, I now looked like a four year old, I was definitely taller than I was before and a bit of the fat that as a toddler wouldn't go away, despite all the moving around I did, had now gone away, although not completely. As I ate I also noticed that all my baby teeth were now in their place, even those who had not managed to come out normally during the previous months.

"Do you feel like going to play with the others or do you want to stay at home today?" my mother asked once I had finished my meal.

"I want to go play!" I said, eager to resume my training.

She nodded, sporting a huge smile on her face. "Let's go then." She took my hand and brought me outside.

Instead of racing her to the old daycare, I followed her to another tent, where the kids who had gone through their second infusion played. The tent wasn't any larger than the previous one, but had a fenced section outside with an obstacle course and an open space where a few kids were wrestling against each other. I was surprised to see that the one looking after the kids here wasn't a woman but an old man. I already recognized him from the dinners in the communal hall and knew his name was Igor. He exchanged a few pleasantries with my mother then saw her off together with me.

He gave me a quick tour of the structure, even though I had already seen everything when entering, then let me free to play how I wished. Before jumping on the toys that were available to me, I took a second to look at the kids who were in what I would call a kindergarten. I recognized most of them, which meant that they were the ones who weren't deemed fit to undergo a third infusion yet, but a few of the faces were somewhat new, or, rather, they were kids I knew who had changed drastically over a single night, just like me.

Not feeling like socializing at the moment, I just made my way to the start of the obstacle course. My wishes weren't met, though, as another girl came up to me just as I was about to start on the course. I recognized her despite the fact that the day before she looked like a one year old. Her name was Tasha and, like me, had successfully just gone through her second infusion.

When she reached me she didn't even try to introduce herself, instead she just said, "wanna race?"